GristyMcFisty used our news submit to tell us about a new legal music swapping service he saw at PC Pro that will be offered by Playlouder and Bulldog. Several UK independent record labels have given the go ahead to the new service that allows subscribers to legally swap music files on a secure network. It also includes spam filtering and spoofed file protection.

The PlayLouder MSP service creates a 'walled garden' of users, who will be able to exchange licensed music files amongst themselves using standard file sharing clients such as Kazaa. PlayLouder itself will be just one peer, feeding new music files into the network. However, behind the scenes it will monitor usage and prevent any sharing outside the 'walled garden' of licensed users. It has, said director Paul Hitchman, 'taken bigger steps than any other ISP in the world' to ensure that the service is secure. The steps, he said, are the reasons why the company has secured what he described as 'pretty broad licences' to distribute music by artists including White Stripes, Underworld, Stereophonics, Badly Drawn Boy, Basement Jaxx and 2003 Mercury Music Prize Winner Dizzee Rascal. The service will only be available by signing up to a broadband connection from Bulldog. PlayLouder will pay the royalties to the record labels, which it will take out of its share of the monthly ADSL charge. Hitchman said that he expects the package should cost no more than you would expect to pay for a standard 512K broadband connection.

There is another article that has some more information that can be found at Music Industry News as well. Here are some quotes from that article:

Michel Lambot, co-Chairman of PIAS Recordings:

'PlayLouder MSP could well represent the perfect compromise the fans and the copyright owners always wanted to see: the ease of file sharing and a stream of royalties enabling Artists to pay for their living and Record Companies to continue to invest in new recordings."

Martin Mills, Chairman of Beggars Group:

'We are committed to working with the most innovative new media companies to open up new distribution channels and new revenue sources for music. The PlayLouder MSP finally offers record companies a way to monetise file-sharing and represents a potential solution for the record industry."

Peter Quicke, MD of Ninja Tune:

"The music world is changing and the way people want their music is changing so it is increasingly important for musicians and record labels to find new ways to supply music and interest people in our ace tunes! PlayLouder MSP is a brilliant new solution."

Thanks for the info GristyMcfisty!

Source: pcpro.co.uk